Cherry Wine On Salted Lips
by TheGenderfluid
Summary: Percy was adamant to spend the rest of his life as an unhappy- and a rather unwilling- immortal. A certain god of wine isn't happy with this decision however.


_How long has it been?_

Percy held the mug to his lips as he chugged down the drink, the fiery taste burning his tongue leaving behind a sense of satisfaction. He was sitting by himself at the bar counter as the world continued to move on without him. Around him were a few mortals who were drinking and chatting away, it was late at night hence the dwindling number of customers.

 _50 years? A generation? Ah, I don't care at all._ Percy pushed his empty mug towards the bartender, who only rolled his eyes and grab the mug, prepared to pour the drunken man another drink for the night. Everything seemed so dull and grey around him even though the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses reached his ears, _and to think grey used to be my second favourite colour once._

Emphasised on the 'once'.

Currently he was in Alaska, the only piece of land he knew that was out of the gods reach. Sure they don't have the comforts and needs he used to have in New York, but at least he still have blue cookies and Mrs O'Leary by his side.

His memories were a blur, slowly fading to nothing but dust as time continued to passed by. Nevertheless, the events of _that_ day were burned into the back his mind. How could he ever forget that day? The day everything was took away from him and swept under a rug like _it_ _didn't fucking matter._

The gods had more use of him, their little soldier and hero. It would be bad if their playtoy died due to mortal circumstances would it? So they revived him, moments after saving his mom, stepdad and baby sister from being mauled by the Minotaur on his 20th birthday, they made him the god of demigods and loyalty.

They made him his worse nightmare, an _immortal._

After that was a blur as everyone started to move on from the war. Annabeth broke up with him moments before he could propose, didn't want to fall for a god who would eventually dump her for another woman, as though their years of companionship didn't matter to her at all. She died peacefully with her grandchildren surrounding her as she joined her late mortal husband.

Grover was still a Lord of the Wild, having a few satyr and nymph babies with Juniper. They were slowly healing the damages mortals had done to the wild, but it will take a millennia before the earth was truly healed. Silenus and Marin had truly passed on, leaving Grover to rebuild the Council of Cloven Elders- that is, if he wanted to.

Hazel and Frank passed peacefully from old age too, their descendants living a happy life in New Rome. Apparently their great-granddaughter, Maria Zhang-Levesque was nominated for praetor much to Reyna's joy. The two enjoyed life in Elysium with the rest of their friends.

A few of his friends were still around though. Nico was groomed to be his father's heir and a god of death, he was in a happy relationship with some dog god from Egypt after he and Will parted on good terms with a final goodbye.

Thalia was still the lieutenant of the hunter's of Artemis, alongside Reyna who joined her shortly after the war ended and she stepped down as praetor. They apparently adopted a pair of twins the last time Percy heard from them.

Leo and Calypso were still travelling around the world, Calypso's titan blood keeping her immortal while the Physician's Cure had an... effect on Leo's body. Needless to say, the gods will be seeing the mischievous demigod around for a very _long_ time.

Jason died young, alongside Piper. They had an on and off relationship as they enjoyed Elysium together according to Nico the last time the younger immortal had tracked him down.

Everyone Percy has known already moved on, except for the few who were made immortal. As for Percy... he had immediately took the nearest route to Alaska to hide from the gods, even his father had been unable to find him. For the pass few years Percy had watched people die around him as he built a steady life, slowly rotting away as the life left his eyes and so did his emotions.

Only a few knew of his location, Nico and Grover were one of them. Nico had expressed his worries for Percy once, with not being around his symbol that long an immortal slowly loses his senses. It was a different case for most gods, Dionysus had slowly gone mad without drinking wine for 50 years, and for Percy it was the lost of his emotions, turning him apathetic.

As the bartender passed the mug back to Percy, the immortal grabbed it with a grateful nod before holding it to his lips. "My my, I guess even the mighty fall,"

Percy nearly spat out the liquid in his mouth in shock as someone spoke behind him, voice full of sarcasm and _familiarity._ The person took the empty seat next to Percy and sat down as he gestured to the bartender, "Give me the best wine you got," He ordered, ignoring Percy.

Holding himself back from choking on his drink and running out of the bar, Percy casually stuffed a hand inside his pocket to play with Riptide's pen form. Sea green eyes glaring suspiciously at the person sitting next to him, "What are you doing here, Dionysus?"

~~~~ᑕᕼᗴᖇᖇƳ ᗯᎥᑎᗴ ᗝᑎ ᔕᗩᒪ丅ᗴᗪ ᒪᎥᑭᔕ~~~~

Dionysus wasn't surprised to find the almighty hero of Olympus, Percy Jackson, in a bar in Alaska. That satyr he appointed Lord of the Wild had told him where to find the missing god after a few friendly chats, still his resistance and loyalty to Jackson had surprised the god immensely.

The god of wine wasn't surprised to find Jackson at all, but the state he was in was the surprising thing.

When the satyr and son of Hades had said 'rotting away', he didn't think it would be this bad. Jackson looked as though he was dead on his feet, despite his beauty still shinning bright and ethereal. Sea green eyes had lost the spark he used to have as a mortal, replaced by a haunted look Dionysus recognised from comatose victims who succumbed to the madness. His raven hair was longer, held back in a messy man bun, the gray streak was still there though.

"Is it a crime for the god of wine to enter a bar now?" Dionysus questioned, raising an eyebrow at Jackson whose scowl deepened, he looks like a disgruntled kitten. "You know what I'm talking about. Did they decided they finally had use for me and tracked me down? What do you guys want me to huh? Lead another war? Be another prophesied matyr? Be a soldier and fight while your children die one by one?"

This was worse than bad, Jackson was definitely going to fade away sooner or later.

"That satyr and son of Hades tracked me down," Dionysus finally admitted, grabbing his wine from the bartender and sending the man a glare, frightening the mortal who scurried off. "I owe them a debt, and they wanted me to 'heal' you," Confession time, he didn't owe a debt to the satyr and death god, he was here for an entirely different reason.

Percy Jackson was an anomaly ever since he stepped foot inside Camp Half-Blood. No one had dared go against him, and yet this 12 year-old kid with a sassy mouth and a possible thing for death did. Dionysus had pushed it aside as arrogance back then. But the boy continued to surprise and annoy him year after year, and Dionysus could only surrender to admit that Percy Jackson interested him like no other, not even his beloved wife Ariadne could hold a candle to the boy.

Then came the day Jackson was made immortal, and he disappeared off the face of the earth. Dionysus was one of the few who voted against immortality, alongside Hestia, Poseidon and surprisingly Aphrodite. But in the end Jackson became a god, a supposed soldier for Olympus to use when the time comes, at least until he ran which Dionysus was entirely grateful for.

But now... Dionysus spared a subtle glance at the hero. He would be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to Jackson sexually and romantically, and he wasn't one to give up on a challenge so easily. Besides, the others couldn't accuse him of cheating if he and Ariadne divorced after the nymph incident that got him sent to that demigod camp for brats.

He would heal Percy Jackson, and he would make him his.

Jackson snorted, taking a sip of his beer, "Heal? How can you heal something which is broken to pieces?" He said bitterly, the haunted look in his eyes an endless abyss. "And what's with the new look?" Dionysus smirked at the faint blush on the demigod's cheek, a small hope that Jackson was attracted to guys blooming in him. He knows he looks good, Percy's immortality allowing him to see the god's true form as a lean, tall man with suntanned skin, smouldering eyes the colour of wine and curly brown hair that reached his shoulders.

"This is how I usually look like since you're immortal and can see my true form without the restrictions. Restricting a god from his job or symbol would make them slowly fade away into nothingness, not even a soul to exist. Why do you think we gods keep moving?"

Jackson hummed, "That's what Nico told me last time, fading away does sound nicer than living forever as a god and watching people die..." A faint smile played across his plump lips, Dionysus wondered whether he should hate that smile or love it because Jackson looks beautiful smiling but the smile was entirely for the wrong reason.

"How about we make a bet?"

That caught Jackson's attention as he turned to faced him fully, "A bet?" He echoed.

Dionysus nodded, "A bet, I find you a reason to live and heal you within the next decade. If I don't suceed, I'll leave you alone and I won't tell the others I found you," Jackson raised an eyebrow, "And if you suceed?"

"You go on a date with me,"

The bar was lively yet in their little haven, everything seemed silent as Jackson gaped at him before collapsing into laughter, "ME?! GO ON A DATE WITH YOU?!" Dionysus smirked as he eyed the laughing immortal who seemed more alive than before, "I'm serious, unless of course you don't like guys that way?"

Jackson waved a hand offhandedly, his laughter subsiding into giggles, "Oh I do, a few flings here and there shown me that I like both genders," Dionysus controlled the bursting fireworks of happiness in his stomach with a widened smirk, _I have a chance!!_

"...alright then, I'll make that bet with you Dionysus," Jackson held a hand out for the god to shake, a grin on his face though it didn't reached his eyes like it used to before. "Give me a reason to live and 'heal' me, and I'll go on a date with you,"

Dionysus smirked, taking the hand into his own and shaking it, "A bet is a bet,"

 _And I am nothing but determined to win your heart._

~~~~ᑕᕼᗴᖇᖇƳ ᗯᎥᑎᗴ ᗝᑎ ᔕᗩᒪ丅ᗴᗪ ᒪᎥᑭᔕ~~~~

His 'coincidental' meeting with Dionysus had been 9 years ago, there was a year left till the end of their bet and honestly, Percy was starting to dread what happens when the bet was up. Dionysus had been nothing but patient as he showed Percy that immortality doesn't necessarily meant the end of things for him. He could confide with Dionysus about lots of things surprisingly since they were both demigods once, and had experience living mortal lives.

Dionysus had managed to sneak Percy into the Underworld to meet his friends, all who were not so happy with Percy's current condition which he got an earful about. The god also convinced Percy to meet a therapist, who strangely enough was a fellow demigod-turned-god who he thought long dead, and happens to hold a vengeance for him.

Alabaster and Percy became fast friends despite their chaotic first meeting ending with the son of Hecate trying to strangle Percy with his necktie.

Percy had also gotten a hobby, and shocking enough gardening seemed to calm him more than slaying random monsters who don't know what the words 'I don't want to fight you' means. There were countless of species in his house ranging from both magical to normal plants, including the garden of moonlace he promised Calypso long ago.

His relationship with the god of wine continued to blossom, and soon enough Percy caught himself falling for Dionysus. But something held him back, a lot of somethings actually. One, Dionysus was a married man and Percy certainly didn't want to occurred the wrath of a vengeful wife, he wasn't stupid enough to piss women off unlike Zeus does. Two, he was fairly certain that Dionysus would dump him the second he finds another hot mortal or immortal to woo into his bed.

The sound of his doorbell ringing startled the demigod out of his thoughts as he placed his gloves down. Moving to open the door, he smiled at the lean figure standing behind it, "Hi Dio, you're early today," Dionysus smirked, dressed in a black coat and a leopard print scarf around his neck, a potted plant in his arms which Percy was quickly drawn to and his eyes widened, "Are those..."

Dionysus' smirk widened, "Mandrakes, happy birthday kitten," Percy pouted, giving the god a dark glare, "I told you before to not call me by that embarrassing nickname didn't I?" Dionysus shrugged, entering the house and placing the Mandrakes carefull into Percy's arms, "It's not my fault you look like kitten,"

"I am not! Besides where did you find these? I thought they went extinct long ago," Percy murmured as he strolled outside and placed the Mandrakes in a empty spot, noting to find a more suitable place for the plant later on. Dionysus shrugged, eyeing Percy as he bent down to place the plant, his bubble butt up in the air giving the wine god quite a few images and suggestions to use for the night. "Hecate still has that magic school of hers, and they grow Mandrakes," Percy stood up and gave the god an unimpressed stare, "You stole it?"

"I prefer the term swap, since I swapped those Mandrakes for a few of my best wine,"

"...you were watching that comedian from Got Talent weren't you?"

"A fine son of Hermes I must say,"

Percy sighed, already used to Dionysus' habits, "You can help set up the table for me as I prepare the food, and don't you dare try and summon wine to pour into every food you eat," Percy walked back to the kitchens, only for a hand to strike out a grab his wrist. The son of Poseidon glanced at Dionysus questioningly, "Dio? Is something wrong?"

"...I noticed you've been smiling more often," Percy nodded, still confuse about where this was going. "Yeah, I mean it's hard not to smile when I'm doing something I enjoy in like normal people do,"

"Does this mean I won the bet now?" Dionysus' quiet question echoed throughout the house.

Percy coughed, avoiding to look at the god right in the eye, "Well yeah, but I doubt you would want to date someone like me, I mean wouldn't your wife get angry-"

"Peter Johnson," Percy snapped up at the old nickname Dionsyus used to call him to glare, only to meet the god in the eye as his wine- coloured eyes blazed in seriousness. "When I said I wanted to go on a date with you years ago, I meant it. And when I said I wanted to heal you, I wasn't lying either,"

"I divorced with Ariadne way before we met, me chasing after that nymph and babysitting you brats in camp was the last straw for her. You caught my interest, and I want you to be mine to love, mine to cherish until the end of days," Dionsyus murmured, holding Percy's hand to his lips and placing a chaste kiss on the back of the demigod's hand.

"I've not found another to love after you disappeared, this still continues until now. I just want you to know that I truly love you. If you are willing to give me a chance and give you the love you truly deserved,"

Percy's face was beet red as he avoided looking at the god kneeling before him, "Where in Hera's cows did you learn to speak like that? A-And what about demigods? Wouldn't you need to have children to balance the power?" He stuttered out, the blush on is face deepening at the low chuckle that spilled from Dionysus' lips, _why does Dionysus have to be hot?!_ It was a major improvement from the one he met in the past though.

"I promise to you Percy on the River Styx, I won't easily cheat on you. But I am a god hence demigods is a must according to my father, but I will speak to you beforehand. Or we could have a surrogate to birth our child, our children will just be demigods on a more powerful level unless we grant them immortality,"

"B-But why me? I mean there are so many ovthers to choose from- WHOA!" Dionysus pulled Percy into his embrace, carrying the man princess style to the couch before sitting down, Percy straddling his lap as Dionysus wrapped his arms around Percy's waist in an embrace. "Kitten, I myself did not plan on falling in love with you, but I did plan on winning your heart and you falling for me,"

"Question is, do you want to give me a chance and love you to the end of days?" Dionysus questioned, moving his head to levelled Percy with a serious look as he awaited Percy's reply, "You don't have to answer now, I will wait for your reply another decade if I have to-"

He was cut off as Percy pressed his lips against his shyly before quickly moving away as though thunder had struck him. Percy shrugged with a tiny smiled at Dionysus' astounded look, "Why wait another decade when you could have me now?"

Grinnning, Dionysus pulled Percy into another kiss, this one longer and more passionate than the last.


End file.
